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Citizens'  association  of 

Chic  p.  go 

Address • 
convention 
lotion. 


•constitutional 
and   other  legiS' 


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ht 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT    LOS  ANGELES 


/? 

ADDRESS 


HV    THE 


fITIZENS'  ASSOCIATION 


OF  CHICAGO. 


Constitutional  Convention 


AND 


Other  Legislation. 


1895. 


-  Ill  -^ 

THE  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE 

OF  THE 

Citizens'  Association  of  Chicago, 

'  Respectfully  submit  the  following  Address. 

The  agitation  for  Municipal  Reform  has  been  so  active  for  a 
year  past,  and  so  general  in  its  scope,  that  it  has  assumed  a  national 
character.  Nowhere  has  it  l)een  more  active  and  thorough  than  in 
Chicao^o.  This  is  evidenced  by  the  formation  of  several  associations 
or  leagues,  some  for  general,  others  for  special  investigations. 

The  operations  of  these  societies  as  far  as  made  pul)lic  show  that 
they  have  gone  over  the  ground  which  has  been  so  often  explored, 
and  have  arrived  at  the  same  conclusions  as  those  which  have  pre- 
ceded them,  the  facts  elicited  by  their  investigations  differing  only 
as  to  the  names  of  persons  and  in  degree  or  volume.  Many  sug- 
gestions for  relief  from  the  evils  which  have  beset  our  City  for  so 
many  years  have  been  made,  but  few  of  them  vary  from  those 
which  have  been  heretofore  tried  with  indift'erent  success.  The 
greater  numlier  of  these  remedies  are  based  upon  proposed  legisla- 
tion at  the  present  session  of  the  State  Legislature. 

Among  the  subjects  which  interest  our  community  and  which   re- 

/;   quire  thorough  and  radical  treatment  are  : 

\^       1.     Justices   Courts,   including,    of  course,    those    designated  as 

V^Police  Courts,   which  are    now  weighed    down   with    abuses  of  all 

vr   kinds. 

^      2.     Taxation ;  particularly    with    regard    to    the    assessment    of 
property. 

3.     Consolidation  of  the  towns  composing   Chicago,  or  the  erec- 

365399 


tioii  of  a  new  City  and  County,  while  preservinir  the  Park  and 
nraiiiaiio  Oislriets,  and  fealty  to  the  State. 

4.  The  enactment  of  a  law  for  the  reform  of  the  Civil  Ser- 
vice. 

It  would  seem  an  easy  matter  to  establish  a  Court  for  Police  pur- 
poses undei'  our  present  Constitution,  but  that  would  not  do  away 
with  the  present  abominable  institutions  which  would  thereafter 
llouiisli  all  the  better  from  havin<2^  a  mon()))()ly  of  the  worst  kind  of 
l)usiiiess.  So  w  itii  Taxation  ;  the  Revenue  Law  could  be  amended, 
but  in  doing  so  all  the  rest  of  the  State  would  be  involved,  and  in 
the  iireater  part  of  it  no  change  would  be  tolerated.  The  (piestion 
is  complicated,  in  our  case,  with  territorial  dithculties,  such  as  con- 
solidation of  the  city  towns,  which  is  out  of  the  (piestion  under 
l)resent  laws ;  any  attem})t  to  accomplish  it  woidd  invite  failure. 
We  have  now  eleven  assessors  in  the  territory  which  makes  up  the 
City  of  Chicago.  VVe  have  also,  in  Cook  County,  the  anomaly  of  a 
dual  school  system,  which  should  be  abolished. 

The  restriction  of  Constitutional  Amendments  to  that  of  one  arti- 
cle at  a  time  is  an  etiectual  bar  to  any  amendment  of  it  whatever 
that  has  local  apj)licati()n  oidy.  Laws  for  our  relief  under  the  })res- 
ent  Constitution  would  either  be  unconstitutional  or  fail  to  provide 
a  remedy  for  the  evils  under  which  we  are  suffering. 

After  a  careful  review  of  the  whole  situation  in  tin;  light  of  past 
experience  and  ])resent  or  recent  oc-currences,  we  are  constrained  to 
advise  that  the  best  method  of  obtaining  sutficient  and  lasting  munic- 
i])al  reform  is  to  secure  a  revision  of  the  State  Constitution  wherein 
the  whole  subject  of  unuiicipal  administi'ation  in  Chicago  and  Cook 
County  can  be  dealt  with  in  the  light  of  ))resent  deliciencies  and 
necessities.  If  any  amendments  can  be  made  to  existing  laws  to 
tide  over  })ressing  ditiiculties,  they  will  give  relief  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, "but  the  root  of  the  evil,  which  proceeds  from  the  inadetpiacy 
of  the  organic  law  of  the  State  in  its  application  to  our  case,  can- 
not be  reached  except  by  radical  measures.  The  question  of  a  Con- 
stitutional C^onvention  should,  therefore,  be  submitted  to  the  people. 


That  the  present  time  is  ()p[)()itinie  for  siieli  inovement  cainiot  l)e 
<l()ul)te(l,  wlien  we  see  that  the  })()litieal  party  whieh  lias  dominated 
this  State  and  its  legislation  for  more  than  30  years,  has  a  majority 
in  the  Assembly  of  nearly  the  renuired  two-thirds. 

But  it  is  not  Cook  County  alone  that  requires  a  ehange  in  admin- 
istrative system.  There  are  many  requirements  })y  other  cities 
which  could  receive  attention  from  a  Convention.  There  are  also 
some  matters  of  general  interest  which  could  be  dealt  with.  The 
Supreme  Court  should  not  be  migratory,  the  Appellate  Court  judges 
should  be  elective,  the  whole  Revenue  System  should  be  revised. 
Prison  Keform,  Multiplicity  of  Elections,  the  relations  of  Capital 
and  Labor,  Consolidated  Trusts,  Municipal  Grants  of  Franchises, 
and  other  matters  of  interest  which  have  arisen  since  the  adoption  of 
the  [)resent  Constitution  in  1870  should  be  considered. 

The  objections  to  a  revision  of  the  Constitution  came  mainly 
from  those  who  fear  that  the  restrictions  on  debt  and  taxation  may 
be  removed  ;  others  object  to  hazarding  the  minority  representation 
plan  of  electing  the  General  Assemlily  ;  while  there  are  some  who 
have  visions  of  inroads  by  corporations  upon  the  public  domain  of 
franchises  and  })rivileges.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
present  restriction  of  debt  is  illusory.  In  Cook  County  the  5  per 
cent,  restriction  is  practically  ignored,  as  it  may  be,  and  probably 
is,  in  other  places.  The  City,  County,  Parks  and  Sanitary  District 
have  contracted,  or  may  each  contract,  loans  amounting  to  5  per 
cent,  on  the  valuation  of  the  same  territory — 20  per  cent,  in  all. 
To  contract  new  del)t  it  is  only  necessary  to  form  a  new  munici- 
pality. As  for  taxation,  the  County  limit  of  75  cents  per  $100  is 
a  constitutional  one,  but  that  of  2  i)er  cent,  for  the  City  is  a  statu- 
tory one,  and  can  be  increased  at  any  session  of  the  legislature. 
The  latitude  of  5  per  cent,  taxation  for  schools  evidently  needs  re- 
striction. A  new  Constitution  would  have  to  be  submitted  for  rati- 
fication to  the  people,  whose  views  about  minority  representation 
should  1)0  paramount.  If  recent  events,  political  and  industrial,  are 
any  indication  of  pul)lic  sentiment,  there  need  be  no   fear  that  cor- 


6 

porations  can  encroach  upon  llic  })ul)lic  through  a  po})uUir  vote. 
The  honesty  and  good  sense  of  the  people  of  Illinois  can  be  relied 
upon  as  tinuly  now  as  in   isTii. 

Meanwhile  it  is  universally  admitted  that  a  reform  in  the  Civil 
Service  is  al)solutely  essential  to  any  economical,  efficient  and  honest 
administration.  Pul)lic  opinion  is  a  unit  on  this  question.  The 
leading  reform  organizations,  the  clubs,  the  executive  committees  of 
the  two  great  liolitical  })artios,  are  unanimously  demanding  it.  The 
Citizens'  lAssociation  has  for  many  years  advocated  it.  Bills  are 
now  pending  in  the  General  Assembly  for  the  estal)lishment  of  Civil 
Service  of  Cities  upon  the  merit  system,  so  successfully  adopted  by 
the  Federal  Government  and  l)y  several  of  the  States.  The  enact- 
ment of  such  a  law  cannot,  it  is  believed,  be  defeated  in  tlu'  face  of 
an  intense  and  urgent  pul^Iic  sentiment  in  its  favor. 

]\Ielville  E.  Stoxe,  Francis  Beidlek, 

President.  Vice-  Presiden  t. 

I.  K.  BoYESEN,  John  J.  Glessner, 

Wm.  a.  Fuller,  H.  N.  Higinbotham, 

H.  H.  KoHLSAAT,  O.  S.  A.  Sprague, 

R,  J.  Smith,  Josiah  L.  Lombard, 

Christoph  Hotz,  Julius  Stern, 

J.  Harley  Bradley,.  Murry  Nelson, 

Francis  B.  Peabody, 

Executive  Conwiittee. 


The  "  Chlc(((jo  Ti'/hvnr  ''  in  an  editorial  January  13,  1S05,  re- 
ferrino-  to  the  Resohition  introduced  by  Mr.  Needles  in  the  Le<>;isla- 
ture  for  submitting  to  the  vote  of  the  people  a  proposition  for  a 
Convention  to  revise  the  State  Constitution,  ma'kes  the  following 
remarks : 

"  It  would  appear  fniiu  tlie  preamble  that  fai'iner.s,  litigants,  workingmen  and  all 
other  interests  in  the  State  are  deprived  of  something  eiich  of  them  ought  to  have 
because  the  Constitution  stands  in  the  way.  So  say  the  tax-eaters.  So  say  the  men 
who  want  to  be  liberal  with  other  people's  money.  So  say  the  corporation  law- 
yer's whose  clients  want  special  privileges.  But  when  they  are  called  on  for  facts 
they  submit  none.  When  they  are  called  on  to  state  things  which  a  majority  of 
the  people  think  ought  to  be  done,  but  cannot  be  done  on  account  of  alleged  re- 
strictive provisions,  they  are  mute. 

For  tliere  are  no  real  gi'ievances  which  are  not  cureable  b}-  amendment.  There 
are  restrictive  provisions  already  mentioned  which  are  and  long  have  been  a  thorn 
in  the  flesh  of  those  who  are  anxious  for  a  Constitutional  Convention.  They  dare 
not  submit  an  amendment  to  abrogate  one  of  them,  but  they  think  they  might  get 
rid  of  them  were  a  new  Constitution  to  be  framed." 

In  reply  to  this  and  to  other  recent  criticisms  of  the  motives 
iinderlyino;  the   movement  for  a  Constitutional  Convention  and  a 

*-■  ~ 

request  for  some  real  reasons  avhy  a  Convention   is  necessary 
TO  revise,  alter  and  amend  the  Constitution  of  Illinois,   as 

ADOPTED  IN   1870,   IN  SO  FAR  AS  THE    CiTY    OF    CHICAGO    AND    CoOK 

County  are  concerned,  we  submit  the  following  : 

1.  Because  under  the  constitution  as  it  exists,  no  legislation  can 
be  had  that  will  enable  the  people  of  said  City  to  consolidate  the 
various  governing  bodies  now"  existing  within  its  territorial  limits, 
so  as  to  unify  the  eleven  town  governments,  the  City  Government 
and  the  County  Government ;  even  if  a  majority  of  the  whole  num- 
ber of  voters  is  in  favor  of  such  action. 

There  is  a  statute  in  force  for  uniting  towns  (Chap.  139,  Sec.  37, 
Hiu'd's  Rev.  Stat.,  1891)  which  requires  that  a  majority  in  each  of 
the  towns  attempting  to  unite  must  vote  in  favor  of  such  union  ; 
but  if  in  the  smallest  of  the  eleven  towns  within  the  City  of  Chicago 
only  a  minority  should  vote  for  union,  the  measure  would  be 
defeated  even  though  an  overwhelming  majority  were  in  its  favor  in 


8 

llic  other  ton.  And  tliouiili  siicccsst'iil  in  all  of  llicm,  llic  (|nosli()n 
of  the  miitiiii:- of  the  ('itv  and  ( 'oiiiilv  ( io\('riiiiK'iits  foi'  tliat  |)ortion 
of  teri-iloi  y  comprised  williin  the  City  Jjiniits  as  now  or  in  tiie 
near  future  constituted,  and  of  a  division  of  the  territory  em- 
braced in  the  present  County,  would  still  l)e  undecided;  and  the 
Section  of  the  Constitution  (Art.  X,  Sec.  7)  Avhieh  provides  that: 

'•'•  1'he  County  atlairs  of  Cook  County  shall  he  niana^'cd  hy  a 
l)oard  of  Commissioners  of  fifteen  persons,  ten  of  whom  shall  be 
elected  by  the  City  of  Chicago,  and  five  from  Towns  outside  of  said 
City,  in  such  manner  as  may  1)C  provided  by  law,''  must  needs  be 
revised  or  aniended  before  a  division  of  the  territory  embraced 
within  Cook  Coiuity  (if  such  division  were  found  most  satisfactory 
to  its  inhabitants)  could  be  etfected. 

'1.  In  Art.  IX,  Sec.  1  of  the  Constitution,  it  is  provided  that : 
"  The  General  Assembly  shall  provide  such  revenue  as  may  l)e 
needed  by  levying  a  tax,  l)y  valuation,  so  that  every  person  *uid 
Corporation  shall  pay  a  tax  in  proportion  to  the  value  of  his,'  iier 
or  its  property,"  etc. 

The  same  article,  in  Sec.  8  provides  that  :  "County  authoi'ities 
shall  never  assess  taxes,  the  aggregate  of  which  shall  exceed  75 
cents  per  $10()  valuation,  except  for  the  })ayment  of  indebtedness 
existing  at  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  unless  authorized  by  a 
vote  of  the  peo})le  of  the  County." 

Sec.  9  goes  on  to  say  :  "All  municipal  corporations  may  be 
vested  with  authority  to  assess  and  collect  taxes;""  hut  excepting 
that  such  taxes  shall  l>c  uniform  with  respect  to  jjcrsons  and  ])rop- 
erty  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  body  imposing  the  same,  there  is 
no  limitation  whatever  upon  the  rate  of  such  taxation. 

From  the  maximum  iat(»  of  taxation  allowed  by  Sec.  8  for 
('ount\-  purposes,  one  might  infer  that  the  framers  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, when  usinix  in  Sec.  1  the  languao-e,  "A  tax  \)\  valuation,'' 
must  have  intended /"/ ,/>///•  cdsJc  val nation;  yet  by  giving  permission 
under  Sec.  9  to  all  municipal  cor})orations  to  assess  and  collect 
tax3s,  without  im))osing  any  restrictions  upon  them  as  to  the  rate  of 


taxation  which  they  might  so  assess  and  collect — and  by  making  it 
])Ossihle  for  any  number  of  municipal  corporations  to  be  super- 
imposed one  upon  another  in  the  same  territory,  each  armed  with 
independent  taxing  powers,  the  framcrs  of  the  Constitution  have 
defeated  their  object  (if  such  was  intended)  of  having  taxes  levied 
upon  a  fair  cash  valuation,  as  the  sum  total  of  taxes  so  levied  would 
amount  to  a  total  confiscation  of  the  entire  income  of  the  property 
under  the  asfsfreo-ate  rates  so  assessed  and  collected  for  the  use  of 
the  various  municipal  corporations  assessing  and  collecting  taxes 
from  the  citizens  of  Chicago,  .none  of  which  (the  County  alone 
excepted)  are  checked  by  the  Constitution  in  the  maximum  rate 
they  might  impose.  The  result  has  been  that  property,  instead  of 
beinof  taxed  at  its  fair  cash  value — an  amount  which  every  intelligent 
pesson  could  fairly  criticise  and  affirm  or  deny — is  assessed  at  arbi- 
trary valuations,  varying  with  the  caprice,  the  whim  or  the  venality 
of  the  assessors,  and  necessarily  wanting  in  the  uniformity  aimed 
at  by  the  language  of  the  Constitution. 

The  only  way  to  correct  this  evil,  is  by  constitutional  amendment 
limiting  the  rate  of  taxation  which  may  be  imposed  on  persons  and 
property  by  the  combined  taxing  powers  of  all  the  mun,icl})al  cor- 
porathniK  which  may  have  a  right  to  draw  revenue  from  said  per- 
sons and  i)roperty ;  and  fixing  that  rate  at  so  low  a  point  that  prop- 
erty may  be  assessed,  at  its  true  cash  value  without  danger  of  con- 
fiscation. Then  we  may  hope  to  see  fair!}'  honest  returns  of  the 
vast  mass  of  personal  property  which  now  is  hidden  from  the  asses- 
sor, and  which,  because  it  will  not  pay  taxes  at  a  ruinous  rate,  goes 
untaxed  altogether. 

3.  The  necessity  for  a  change  in  the  system  of  Courts  inferior 
to  Courts  of  Record  in  Cook  County,  so  as  to  abolish  the  Justice  of 
Peace  system,  seems  to  be  admitted  on  all  hands ;  yet,  as  shown  by 
an  exhaustive  research  recently  made  by  a  competent  authority, 
this  cannot  be  eft'ected  without  a  Constitutional  Amendment,  in 
view  of  the  efi'ect  of  Art.  VI,  Sec.  29,  which  provides  that  "  All 
laws  relating  to   Courts   shall  be  general,"  etc.  ;  and  the  Counties 


10 

outside  of  Cook  are  satisfied  ^vi1ll  the  Justice  of  Peace  system,  as 
they  doul)tless  are  justified  in  l)ein<r.  and  would  oppose  a  <jfen<n"al 
change. 

4.  The  Constitution,  hy  Art.  XH',  Sec.  2,  has  (k'prived  the 
People  of  the  State  of  the  means  of  speedily  renuMlyino-  any  evils 
under  which  they  might,  in  course  of  time  and  altered  environments, 
find  themselves  suffering,  by  reason  of  the  confining  limitations  in 
its  provisions,  by  hedgingabout  the  power  of  amendments  so  closely, 
that  after  providing  that  all  ])roposed  amendments  >liall  receive  a 
two-thirds  vote  in  both  Houses  of  the  Legislature,  and  then  a  ma- 
jority vote  of  the  People  of  the  State  (})roper  ])recautions  against 
hasty  and  improvident  action),  it  continues  :  "  But  the  (xeneral  As- 
sembly shall  have  no  power  to  propose  amendments  to  more  than 
one  article  of  this  Constitution  at  the  same  session,  nor  lo  the  same 
article  oftener  than  once  in  four  years."' 

If,  therefore,  it  is  conceded  that  the  three  grievances  first  set  out 
in  this  communication,  are  entitled  to  favorable  consideration  and 
require  constitutional  amendment,  yet,  though  all  may  be  meritori- 
ous and  though  relief  may  l)e  demanded  l)y  the  whole  Peoj)le,  nev- 
ertheless three  sessions  of  Legislature  or  six  years  at  the  very  least, 
must  elapse  before  relief  can  be  had  ;  and  this  delay  adds  a  fourth 
ijrievance  to  the  list.  Moreover,  if  it  should  be  found — a  b\-  no 
means  chimerical  supposition — that  two  separate  articles  of  the  Con- 
stitution must  be  amended,  in  order  that  some  one  necessary  law 
may  be  enacted  and  which  might  else  ]»e  in  danger  of  conflict  with 
existing  Constitutional  })rovisions,  then  the  People  would  be  en- 
tirely im})otent  under  the  Constitution  of  is  To  to  help  themselves, 
except  by  wailing  four  years,  obtaining  the  favorable  action  of  two 
successive  Legislatures  and  two  separate  submissions  to  })opular 
vote — and  only  then  if  no  nuschances  intervened  in  all  that  time 
miijht  thev  obtain  relief  bv  ''•  takin<>-  two  bites  at  a  cherr^■. " 

Charges  of  venalty,  of  sul)serviency  to  private  corporations  who 
are  anxious  to  throw  otl  present  Constitutional  restrictions  and 
supervision,  and  of  other  sinster  motives  imputed  to  its  friends,  are 


11 

readily  made  whenever  the  question  of  Constitutional  provision  is 
propounded.  It  is  fair  to  assume  that  men  of  honest  intentions  may 
and  do  seek  such  revision,  that  the  People  of  the  State  of  Illinois 
are  as  watchful  and  intelligent  of  their  interests,  and  as  active  in  de- 
fendin<j  them  aii^ainst  individual  and  corporate  greed  and  rapacity 
now,  as  they  were  twenty -five  years  ago  ;  and  that  they  will  retain 
all  the  meritorious  provisions  of  the  Constitution  of  1870  unaltered, 
strengthening  that  instrument  where  the  experiences  of  a  quarter  of 
a  century  of  unexampled  material  development  of  the  State  have 
shown  it  to  be  weak  and  inadequate,  and  profiting  l\y  the  experi- 
ences of  this  and  our  sister  States  during  that  period. 


Abstract  of  the  opinion  of  I.  K.  Boyesen,  Esc{.,  on  the  question 
of  whether  an  act  could  he  passed  by  the  General  Assembly  creating 
a  municipal  court  for  the  City  of  Chicago,  which  should  have  juris- 
diction in  all  cases  where  justices  of  the  peace  now  have  jurisdic- 
tion, and  a  more  extended  and  general  jurisdiction  than  the  justice 
of  the  peace  now  has,  the  object  to  be  accomplished  being  to  avoid 

the  evils  existing  under  our  present  justice  of  the  peace  system  in 
the  City  of  Chicago.      He  says  : 

"  I  am  of  opinion  that  any  court  that  might  be  estabhshed  by  act  of  the  gen- 
eral assembly  without  constitutional  amendment  would  not  supersede  the  justices 
of  the  peace  or  deprive  the  justices  of  the  jurisdiction  which  thej'  now  have  by 
general  law  applicable  to  the  entire  state.  The  justice  of  the  peace  is  a  constitu- 
tional judicial  officer,  and  the  general  assembly  has  not  the  power  to  abolish  such 
justice  of  the  peace,  and  they  can  only  enact  laws  covering  tlie  jurisdiction  of  such 
justice  so  as  to  make  such  jurisdiction  uniform  throughout  the  state.  While  the 
general  assembly  would  have  i)()wer  to  either  diminish  or  increase  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  justices  in  the  state  at  large,  it  would  not  have  the  power  to  make  the  ju- 
risdiction of  tlie  justices  of  the  peace  different  in  the  City  of  Chicago  from  what  it 
is  in  the  other  portions  of  the  state.  See  Constitution  of  1870,  Article  VI,  Sec- 
tion 1." 

Mr.  Boyesen  then  cites  several  Supreme  Court  decisions  to  sliow^ 
that  the  justices  of  the  peace  are  constitutional  officers  and  that  their 
jurisdiction  must  be  uniform  throughout  the  State.  Several  attempts 
by  the  legislature  to  provide  special  jurisdiction  for  the  justices  in 
Cook  County  have  been  declared  unconstitutional  under  the  inhibi- 
tory clause  contained  in  the  article  providing  for  the  state's  judiciary. 
He  adds : 


12 

In  inyoiiinion  it  would  be  coinpetcnl  for  tlir  Icfiislature  to  j)ass  :in  net  provid- 
ing for  the  cstablishiiK'nt,  in  eoiuities  having  a  iidimlalioii  nf  .jO,()0()  inhabitants 
and  over,  of  courts  liavinir  concurrent  jurisdiction  willi  justices  of  the  ])eace  in  all 
civil  and  criminal  cases  of  certain  limits  and  grades  therein  to  l»e  named  (say  in 
civil  casi's  ui>  t()  !>5(I0,  ami  in  all  criminal  cases  iiunishal)le  by  Hue  and  imprison- 
ment in  the  county  j:iil),  and  providing  that  the  jjractice  in  such  court  should  be 
similar,  so  far  us  pleadings  and  proceedings  are  concerned,  to  that  whii'h  now  pre- 
vails in  justice  courts,  and  making  the  operation  and  etlect  of  such  act  dependent 
upon  the  passage  of  an  ordinance  l)y  the  connnon  c(Mincil  submitting  to  the  peojile 
the  (piestion  of  whether  or  not  such  act  should  be  adojjted  and  such  courts  estab- 
lished. I  gravely  doubt,  however,  whether  such  an  act  would  be  of  any  practical 
benelit  so  long  as  the  justice  of  the  peace,  with  his])resent  powers  and  jurisdiction, 
exists.  At  the  presiiit  time  tlie  Circuit  Courts  and  the  County  C(airt  have  con- 
current juristlicticjn  with  the  justice  of  tlu^  j)eace  in  all  civil  cases,  and  the  litigant 
who  actually  desires  to  have  his  case  determined  in  a  court  of  a  higher  grade  than 
the  justice's  can  as  readily  and  as  easily  institute  his  suit  in  the  Circuit  Court  as 
before  the  justice  of  the  ])eace.  The  abuses  of  justice  courts  do  not  arise  between 
parties  having  a  legitimate  dispute  to  be  determined  by  litigation,  but  in  cases 
where  one  i)arty  seeks  to  obtain  an  undue  advantage  or  harrass  and  annoy  his 
opponent.  And  so  long  as  the  justice  retains  his  jurisdiction  any  i)arty  desiring  to 
jirosecute  before  a  justice  of  the  peace  may  resort  to  all  the  methods  now  prevail- 
ing for  the  purjxises  of  such  ]>rosecution,  notwithstanding  the  existence  of  a  court 
of  a  higher  grade  to  which  he  might  resort. 

Mr.  Boyesen's  suggestion  is  tliul  the  ))e()ple  seek  to  obtain  the 
passage  of  uresohition  by  the  legislature  submitting  to  the  people  a 
eonstitutional  amendment  authorizing  the  alxjlilion  of  the  oftiee  of 
justice  of  the  peace  in  the  County  of  Cook  and  the  establishment  of 
a  mimicipal  court  having  all  the  jurisdiction  and  ])Owers  now  exer- 
cised by  justices  of  the  peace  and  such  extended  jurisdiction  as  might 
be  deemed  advisable. 


ADDRESS 


BY    TH  E 


CITIZENS'  ASSOCIATION 


OF  CHICAGO 


CITY     FINANCES 


AND 


Constitutional  AmendmentvS 


1896 


THE  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE 

OFTHE 

Citizens'  Association  of  Chicasfo, 

Respectfully  submit  the  following  Address. 


To  THE  Members  of  the  Citizens'  Association  : 

The  recent  versatile  and  animated  discussions  of  the  financial  situa- 
tion of  the  City  of  Chicago  have  brought  to  light  no  new  features,  nor 
given  rise  to  any  practical  suggestions  for  its  relief.  In  fact,  if  any  dis- 
closure has  resulted  from  the  various  publications  it  is  that  there  is  or  has 
been  a  lack  of  precise  information  on  the  subject  more  general  than  could 
have  been  reasonably  supposed.  We  will  rehearse  as  briefly  as  possible 
the  principal  items  required  for  an  understanding  of  the  position. 

The  revenues  of  the  City  of  Chicago  are  derived  mainly  from  taxa- 
tion and  from  licenses.  The  expenditures  may  be  classified  as  follows  : 
Educational  or  Schools,  the  Public  Library,  Interest  on  Debt,  and  Munic- 
ipal. As  the  three  first  named  cannot,  under  any  circumstances,  except 
a  misappropriation  of  their  funds,  be  deficient  at  the  proper  time  for 
their  disbursement,  there  remains  but  the  one  last  mentioned  to  deal  with 
in  this  address.  The  funds  for  the  Water  Supply  and  for  Special  Assess- 
ments come  under  the  same  category  as  those  three  named  above — they 
have  a  separate  administration,  and  cannot  legally  be  used  for  general 
municipal  purposes. 

The  assessment  for  taxation  is  made  by  assessors  in  the  different 
towns  which  are  comprised  within  the  limits  of  Chicago,  of  which  there 
are  seven  whole  towns,  nearly  all  of  another,  and  fractional  parts  of  three 
more — in  all  eleven  assessors.  The  law  under  which  the  assessment  is 
made  has  come  down  to  us  without  material  modification  from  the  first 
settlement  of  the  State;  before  that  from  old  colonial  times.     It  is,  in 


theory,  just  and  equitable,  but  in  its  application  to  our  case  totally  inade- 
quate to  our  needs,  and  as  practically  carried  out,  neither  just  nor  equit- 
able. Its  execution  is  left  to  the  nearly  unbridled  discretion  or  caprice  of 
the  assessors,  the  worst  features  of  which  are  exhibited  in  the  inequality 
of  the  assessment  and  almost  total  disregard  of  the  law  in  making  valua- 
tions. Although  a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois  authorized 
the  valuation  of  one-third  the  cash  value  of  property  as  being  a  legal 
assessment,  a  recent  publication  by  the  State  authorities,  compiled  with 
great  care,  shows  that  in  Chicago  the  valuation  of  real  property,  by  the 
assessors,  varies  from  about  3  per  cent  of  its  salable  value  up  to  10, 
15,  20,  30  per  cent  and  even  higher.  As  a  statement  of  fact  we  believe 
this  compilation  to  be  incontrovertible.  As  for  personal  property,  the 
assessment  is  so  made  that  "stock  in  trade  "  of  merchants  bears  a  bur- 
den eminently  out  of  proportion  to  all  other  property,  and  that  all  shares, 
bonds  and  other  similar  securities  (except  bank  stocks)  escape  taxation 
altogether.  As  a  result  of  this  we  find  in  1874  the  assessed  valuation  of 
all  the  property  taxable  in  the  three  towns  then  included  in  Chicago  was 
$303,705,140;  in  1875  it  dropped  to  $173,764,246;  in  1894  it  was,  in 
the  eleven  towns  and  parts  of  towns,  $247,425,442,  although  in  that 
same  period — 1874  to  1894 — the  population  had  increased  from  400,000 
to  1,600,000 — 400  per  cent — and  the  expenses  of  administration  very 
largely,  though  not  in  as  great  proportion — 225  per  cent. 

The  sudden  drop  in  valuation  in  1875  was  caused  by  the  change  of 
system  from  that  practiced  under  the  old  City  Charter  to  that  prescribed 
by  the  Constitution  of  1870.  The  old  charter  allowed  an  independent 
assessment  for  City  purposes — the  Constitution  requires  that  the  prac- 
tice shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  State,  thus  bringing  us  under  the 
present  town  assessors'  method.  To  prevent  the  possibility  of  excessive 
expenditure  for  city  purposes  the  law  of  1879  was  passed,  limiting  the 
rate  of  municipal  taxation  to  2  per  cent.  This  may  be  increased  by  law. 
That  for  the  County  is  limited  to  f  per  cent,  which  cannot  be  increased, 
and  for  tl^e  Drainage  District  to  ^  per  cent  ordinarily,  but  with  an  addi- 
tional ^  per  cent  for  each  of  the  next  three  years  from  1895.  The  Parks 
and  the  Town  Boards  also  levy  taxes,  and  the  City  for  the  Schools,  the 
Library,  and  for  Interest  and  Principal  of  the  Debt. 

Can  it  be  wondered  at  that  the  assessor  in  each  of  the  city  towns  is 
anxious  to  keep  down  the  total  of  his  assessment  so  as  to  throw  the  bur- 
den of  taxation  as  much  as  possible  on  the  other  towns  ?  Is  it  marvel- 
ous that  all  sorts  of  inducements  are  presented  to  the  minds  of  taxpayers 


Hiul  public  officers  to  reilnco  individual  assesHineuts":'  Can  there  be 
greater  incentives  to  fraud  and  iujustice  than  those  so  palpable  under  these 
c'C)ndi:ioas?  Whpn  the  taxpayer  gets  bis  bill  tor  the  year  and  goes  over 
the  items  of  taxation  for  State,  County,  Cily,  Schools,  Parks,  Town, 
Drainage,  Interest  and  Library  purposes,  and  tinds  a  total  of  9  per  cent 
for  South  Division  property,  9;^  for  that  of  the  West  Division  and  10  for 
the  North,  can  we  blame  him  for  his  execrations  of  the  system  and  every- 
thing connected  with  iti*  The  most  tangible  object  of  his  wrath  is  the 
City  Government  whose  demands  upon  his  purse  for  municipal  purposes 
are  but  about  25  per  cent  of  the  whole  tax.  He  leaves  out  of  view  the 
fact  that  Chicago  is  the  most  lightly  taxed  large  city  in  the  Union.  Even 
at  the  figures  given  taxation  amounts  to  no  more  than  1  per  cent  of  the 
real  value  of  property. 

We  have  said  that  there  can  be  no  deficiency  in  the  funds  for  any 
branch  of  the  City  or  County  Governments  except  from  misappropriation. 
Where  then  does  the  deficiency  exist,  and  what  is  the  cause  of  the  con- 
tinual embarrassment  of  the  City  officials?  The  Municipal  Appropriation 
Bill  passed  April  3,  1895,  to  provide  for  all  the  administrative  expenses 
of  the  City  from  January  1  to  December  31,  exclusive  of  Schools, 
$7,600,000:  Interest,  ??! ,200,000,  and  Public  Library,  1500,000,  but 
including  Pul)lic  Works,  Police,  Health,  Lighting,  Fire,  Sewerage,  and 
smaller  contingents  amounted  to  $8,650,000,  of  which  there  were  to  be 
raised  from  licenses  and  miscellaneous  sources  13,700,000,  and  from  tax- 
ation, $4,950,000. 

The  tax  levy  to  cover  the  $4,950,000  does  not  ))ecome  operative  until 
December,  1895,  and  the  amount  received  during  that  month  is  compara- 
tively small;  but  there  is  a  general  fund  which  results  from  the  savings 
of  years  long  since  past,  amounting  on  January  1,  1895,  to  nearly 
$2,500,000.  This  can  be  used  as  far  as  it  goes  in  helping  out  the  pay- 
ments necessary  under  the  Appropriation  Bill,  but  it  is  evident  that 
unless  the  amount  so  taken  is  reimbursed  to  the  General  Fund  the  capital, 
the  only  reserve  of  the  City  will  have  gone,  and  its  embarrassment  be 
increased  for  future  years.  A  recent  statement  to  the  effect  that  addi- 
tional expenses  have  been  incurred  by  the  City  to  the  extent  of  $500,000 
shows  that  the  appropriation  for  street  lighting  lias  been  exceeded  in  this 
and  former  years,  and  that  $150,000  of  the  expense  is  a  charge  on  this 
General  Fund.  To  deplete  it  for  any  purpose  would  be  a  great  financial 
calamity.  An  issue  of  scrip^ — to  be  paid  out  to  city  employes  only,  and 
not  to  be  sold  by  the  City   to   raise  money-  -to  the  amount  of    75  per 


5 

Cent  of  the  tax  levy — $3,700,000 — can  be  made;  it  has  been  to  a  cer- 
tain extent.  From  all  these  items  the  municipal  appropriations  can  be 
paid  as  they  accrue. 

There  is,  however,  no  visible  means  of  providing  for  the  Floating 
Debt.     Its  composition  was  as  follows,  January  1,  1895: 

Unappropriated  judgmeuts $  002,000 

Special  taxes  levied  against  city  for  street  intersections 1,(  00,000 

Due  pension  funds 328,000 

These  liabilities  were  not  on  the  books  of  the  City  on  January  1, 
1895. 

No  account  is  taken  here  of  liabilities  provided  for  by  special  taxa- 
tion such  as  Interest,  and  Water  Loans.  The  Sinking  and  Special  Funds 
are  debts  which  are  ofFset  by  certain  City  assets.  From  the  nature  of 
these  debts  and  of  the  Pension  Funds  it  does  not  apijear  that  they  are 
pressings  and  they  can  be  paid,  when  payment  is  required,  out  of  the 
resources  of  the  General  Fund  or  of  cash  on  hand  at  the  time.  Why  the 
Pension  Funds  have  not  been  set  apart  and  entered  on  the  City  books  is 
mysterious.  The  Judgments  and  Special  Taxes  are  legacies  of  debt  that 
have  come  down  from  former  administrations,  and  there  seems  no  other 
way  of  paying  them  than  by  appropriation  involving  penury  in  other  di- 
rections, or  by  imposing  a  tax  running  over  a  period  of  two  or  three 
years.  Here  is  where  the  alleged  deliciency  exists,  and  any  law  made 
for  its  relief  by  further  taxation  should  be  so  framed  as  to  prevent  a 
recurrence  of    the  situation. 


A  source  of  embarrassment  of  no  small  import  to  the  City  authorities 
in  meeting  its  payments  is  the  practice  of  holding  back  the  tax  collections 
by  the  Town  collectors,  and  later  in  the  year  by  the  County  Treasurer, 
who  is  the  County  Collector.  It  is  a  constant  source  of  bickering  between 
those  officials  and  the  City  Treasurer,  the  more  annoying  as  it  seems  to 
proceed  from  a  strife  as  to  whom  the  bank  interest  on  the  public  deposits 
shall  accrue. 

It  will  thus  be  seen,  we  beliese,  that  the  financial  difficulties  of 
Chicago  proceed  from  the  antiquated  and  inadequate  system  of  taxation, 
from  the  inequalities  and  other  defects  in  the  practices,  and  from  the 
insufficiency  of  that  part  of  the  revenue  from  taxation  appropriated  for 
municipal  purposes.       There  is  no  deliciency  of  rereuue  except  in  that, 


6 

whicli  is  limited  to  2  jxt  ceut.  of  the  asst^ssod  valuation  of  City  property, 
aiul  which  is  h'ss  than  oaefonrth  of  the  whole  amount  of  taxation. 

Such  a  tiiiaucial  situation  would  not  a|)|)ear  emharrassiug  to  a  rich 
commercial  house  al)le  to  avail  of  its  credit.  It  would  not  be  so  for 
Chicago  if  our  authorities  had  a  similar  resource.  The  collection  of  taxes 
now  in  progress  will  clear  up  the  appropriation  accounts  and  restore 
to  the  General  Fund  its  advances  in  1895  so  that  the  amount  can  be 
used  in  1896.  The  Floating  Debt  can  be  easily  carried,  as  the  judgments 
are  a  good  investment  for  the  holders  or  their  assigns.  The  Pension 
Funds  are  secured  by  the  General  P'und  or  by  assets  which  will  be  real- 
ized before  payments  are  required.  If  nothing  more  is  asked  of  the 
Legislature  of  1897  authority  should  be  sought  to  issue  negotiable 
Revenue  Bonds,  instead  of  scrip,  against  the  incoming  tax  list,  and  to 
levy  a  special  tax  strictly  limited  to  the  amount  necessary  for  paying  off 
the  old  judgments  and  the  accrued  special  assessments  for  street  inter- 
sections. 


Various  remedies  have  been  proposed  for  the  present  situation;  one 
that  will  apply  to  the  future  as  well  as  the  present  is  desirable.  Economy 
is  the  best  remedy  for  financial  evils  in  public  or  private  affairs.  The 
present  City  Administiation  is  deserving  of  credit  for  its  economical 
efforts,  but  the  question  is  often  asked  if  a  smaller  number  of  more  effi- 
cient men  could  not  be  effectively  employed  in  some  of  the  departments. 
Consolidation  of  the  Towns  has  been  recently  brought  up  again,  but 
it  is  a  project  very  different  in  its  aspect  now  to  that  which  it  pre- 
sented in  1888  when  tliere  were  but  three  towns  to  unite.  It  could 
be  of  little  advantage  so  long  as  the  present  absurd  R(>venue  System 
(absurd  as  regards  Chicago)  continues.  Abolition  of  township  organization 
in  Cook  County  would  not  accomplish  all  that  is  wanted.  Equalizing  the 
assessments  is  another  remedy  just  proposed;  that  is,  bringing  up  the  low 
asessments  to  the  legal  standard  or  to  a  standard  much  higher  than  the 
present  average.  This  would  accomplish  the  object  sought,  but  it  would 
be  fought  from  its  inception  to  its  final  defeat  by  the  united  influence  of 
the  large  and  powerful  class  whose  property  is  assesed  at  the  lowest  scale. 

Take  the  ground-work  of  the  best  plans  for  revenue  reform  and  it 
will  be  found  to  underlie  some  scheme  for  a  taxing  district  or  a  species  of 
revenue  autonomy  for  Chicago.  We  want  some  means  of  regulating 
our  finances  that  will  not  conflict  with  the  plans  or  needs  of  other  parts 


of  the  State.  We  are  subjected  to  their  necessities  or  even  their  whims. 
An  incident  calculated  to  assist  City  finances  by  a  small  addition  to  the 
assessed  value  of  some  rich  property  in  the  South  Division  of  the  City 
was  frustrated  by  the  action  of  the  State  Board  of  Equalization  in  reduc- 
ing the  percentage  of  addition  from  that  of  last  year.  We  are  hampered 
at  every  turn  in  this  or  some  similar  manner. 


Constitutional  Amendment  Needed. 

The  last  Legislature  resolved  to  submit  to  the  people  of  the  State 
the  question  of  allowing  three  amendments  to  the  State  Constitution  at  a 
time  instead  of  one  to  which  it  is  at  present  restricted.  Should  that  pass, 
Chicago  might  avail  of  it  by  getting  authority  to  frame  such  a  government 
as  its  position  in  the  State  and  in  the  Union  requires.  Given  this  authority 
and  all  questions  of  detail  can  be  settled  by  a  consensus  of  opinion  of  our 
best  citizens.  A  new  and  enlarged  municipality  including  such  territory 
as  is  necessary  to  form  a  City  and  County  of  Chicago  should  be  a  model 
for  national  admiration.  It  should  have  an  assessor  in  chief — a  continu- 
ous office — and  competent  staff  whose  books  should  always  be  open  to  the 
public,  and  with  a  fixed  maximum  rate  of  taxation  the  assessment  should 
be  regulated  to  a  reasonable  extent  to  suit  the  wants  of  the  municipality. 

In  view  of  the  situation  we  urge  upon  the  City  Authorities,  the  Reform 
Associations,  Federations  and  Leagues,  the  Political  and  other  Clubs  to  at 
once  join  in  a  combined  effort  to  obtain  the  adoption  by  the  people  of  the 
State  of  the  pending  amendment  to  the  Constitution.  We  despair  of 
obtaining  permanent  and  satisfactory  Revenue  Reform  under  present 
conditions.  Part  of  our  embarrassment  arises  from  the  antagonism  of 
those  who  wish  to  maintain  the  present  system  of  assessment  as  the 
one  best  suited  to  the  wants  of  the  smaller  cities  and  the  country  towns, 
villages,  and  rural  districts.  This  amendment,  if  adopted,  will  do  very 
much  to  obviate  the  necessity  of  a  constitutional  revision,  a  measure  which 
has  active  opponents  on  grounds  which  cannot  be  called  altogether  un- 
reasonable. By  its  aid,  besides  making  provision  for  a  sufiicient  Revenue 
Code  for  the  City  and  County,  the  Justices'  Courts  could  be  reorganized 
in  a  satisfactory  manner.  Municipal  Grants  of  FiaEchifes  dealt  with,  aid 
many  other  particulars  of  local  legislation  and  admini&tralion  equitably 
regulated. 


365,'i99 


8 

Meanwliile  tliere  seems  to  be  no  other  way  of  disposing  of  the 
cjreater  part  of  the  Floating  Debt  than  that  we  have  mentioned,  with  the 
understanding  that  such  a  situation  shall  not  be  again  permitted. 
Street  intersections  are  now  paved  at  the  cost  of  the  property  benefited. 
and  the  arrears  are,  as  we  have  said,  of  long  previous  accumulation. 
Embarrassment  for  the  future  in  other  respects  can  only  be  avoid- 
ed by  keeping  strictly  within  the  law  with  regard  to  appropria- 
tions. The  practice  of  making  supplemental  appropriations  should  l)o 
stopped.  If  the  funds  provided  for  the  city  government  are  insufficient 
they  should  not  be  supplemented  by  debt,  even  to  the  General  Fund.  It 
were  better  to  cut  down  the  expenses  to  the  size  of  the  appropriation.  A 
committee  of  influential  citizens  might  obtain  a  reasonable  increase  of 
the  assessment,  subject,  however,  to  the  hazard  of  having  their  plan 
nullified  by  the  State  Board  of  Equalization.  An  increase  of  the 
assessment  in  189G  would  not,  however,  be  available  for  an  increase 
of  revenue  for  municipal  purposes  until  1897. 

R.  J.  Smith,  President. 

JosiAH  L.  LoMBAKD,   Vice-President. 

Melville  E.  Stone, 

R.  E.  Jenkins, 

Wm.  a.  Fuller, 

Bryan  Lathrop, 

Julius  Stern, 

O.  S.  A.  Sprague, 

H.    H.    KOHLSAAT, 

J.  Harley  Bradley, 
Wm.  J.  Chalmers, 
Willis  G.  Jackson, 

ClIRISTCJPU  HOTZ, 

Murry  Nelson, 
J.  C.  Ambler,  Francis  B.  Peabody, 

Secretary.  Executive  Committee. 


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